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Murkowski Resolution Fails to Make it Through Senate Floor

June 11, 2010

A disapproval resolution introduced by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) failed to move forward in the Senate on Thursday after hours of long-anticipated debate on the merits of greenhouse gas regulation.

Murkowski’s resolution would have negated the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) 2009 finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare – a finding that obligates the Agency to regulate those gases under a 2007 Supreme Court ruling.

Versions of a disapproval resolution, a rarely-used procedure outlined in the Congressional Review Act, have been introduced on this issue in both the House and Senate. Had the Senate measure been approved, it would have faced a House vote and a threatened veto from President Barack Obama before becoming law.

In other climate and energy news, analysis was expected from EPA this week on a climate and energy proposal introduced by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), but release of that data has been delayed until early next week. It is unclear if the EPA analysis will shed new light on the bill’s actual provisions or simply expand on past analyses of climate change-related ideas.

Democratic leaders also reportedly met this week to discuss the merits of attempting to move forward with any climate or energy legislation. Senators, at least, have a multiplicity of ideas to pick and choose from, with another energy proposal added to the mix this week by Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.).

NAWG staff members and the NAWG Environment and Renewable Resources Committee continue to follow the development of energy legislation that could move through Congress this session. The NAWG Board has established net economic benefit as a requirement for support of any greenhouse gas-related legislation or regulation, and NAWG signed on to a number of letters in support of the Murkowski and other disapproval proposals.